Sports

Volleyball team poised for season and upcoming match

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The volleyball season is at its midway point, and JBU’s team has been nothing short of dominant.

Despite a loss at the start of the season, the Golden Eagles currently hold a record of 12-6. Their impressive record includes a nine-game winning streak following the opening loss.

Their current way of playing has the team hopeful. Libby Blasingame, middle hitter, even stated that she could see success later in the season as a result.

“Our season has been going pretty well so far,” Blasingame said. “I think that as long as we work hard and focus on improving what needs to be improved, we will have a really good shot at going far this year.”

Their success is attributed in part to the work the team did on the court in the preseason. Bethany Maddox, defensive specialist, stated that the way they have currently been playing is not a surprise due to the way they performed during the preseason.

“During the preseason, you only really play against yourself, so you don’t really see how you play against other people,” Maddox said.

“During the first weekend, we were just going in there and [playing very well]. It was really eye opening, like, ‘Oh, we actually have a shot at this; we’re actually really good.’ It’s not surprising, but it’s nice to see that we’re playing really well.”

The other thing that has given the team success is the way they have bonded individually as players. Molli Pugh, middle hitter, said that a large reason for how the team has played is because of the way the returning players purposefully made an effort to get to know the new players.

“We… had a program this summer where we would text, call and FaceTime the newcomers,” Pugh said. “We really got to know them well during the preseason and two-a-days. We were together all the time and mixing up each other during practices has really helped us play better together.”

This success that has been cultivated will hopefully translate onto the court tonight when the team squares off against St. Gregory’s University in Bill George Arena.

Blasingame said she expects an exciting game from the Cavaliers.

“All the past times we’ve played them, it’s been a pretty fun game,” Blasingame said.

“It’ll be interesting to see what it looks like this year. They have new players; we have a new team also. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out.”

Pugh said that the team should expect a tough, competitive game.

“They’re very scrappy,” Pugh said. “They’ve played a really good game every time we’ve played them. If we just play our game, I know we can beat them.”

Overall, the team is confident that they can rise to the occasion and come away with a victory.

“As long as we play our game, take care of business, come out strong and play really well as a team, I think that we’ll definitely do really well,” Blasingame said.

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